--=[The Ohio Players 2]=--

The Ohio Players - Gold [Remastered][CD1][2008]

The Ohio Players - Gold [Remastered][CD2][2008]


With a bottom-heavy funk sound driven by bright and brilliantly arranged killer horn riffs, the Ohio Players were one of the best and most consistent of the 1970s funk bands, and their approach and lyric sensibility in many ways prefigured the hip-hop explosion that hit some 30 years later. This two-disc, 24-track survey of their key Mercury Records tracks explodes like a party-in-a-box straight out of the gate, and includes the irresistible hits "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster," as well as lesser known (but no less impressive) sides like "Far East Mississippi" and the gorgeous "Time Slips Away." This band still sounds great and that they also sound surprisingly contemporary in both tone and theme is revelatory. Everything essential is here.














The Ohio Players - Angel [1977]

Angel Link 2

There are three elements that can always be found on the Ohio Players' albums that were released during their heyday: funky tracks, hyped ballads and sexually suggestive album covers. This LP is no different, featuring three releases in "Body Vibes," "O-H-I-O" and "Merry Go Round." The first and last peaked at 19 and 77 respectively on the Billboard R&B charts. The second of the three is an uptempo cut, in which the song's title is the only lyric; it is repeated in a whispery chant in the verse and the word itself is sung throughout the chorus. This formula proved successful as the single cracked the Top Ten at number nine inside of 18 weeks. It was also the last Top Ten single for the Dayton, Ohio funk aggregate. "Angel," the title track, and "Can You Still Love Me" were not released, but are classic Ohio Players compositions. "Angel" is a mid-tempo number honed with dancing rhythms and piercing horns that Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner shrouds with his trademark baritone, complemented by superb background vocals. Bonner maintains that same vocal appeal on "Can You Still Love Me," leaving room for falsetto-flavored background vocals that are creatively arranged.

This is a classic album by the Players, it contains all of the things that make the Players great, harmonies, awesome horns, thundering drum fills, exquisite organ/synthesizer and the one and only Sugar!!Yes, it's more ballad oriented than other OP albums, but is that a bad thing? They were truly the macks of superfly funk from 1974-1978.


All track info is in the comment section..